Blackberry Project breaks ground

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By Kevin Dickinson

Siskiyou Daily News, Yreka, CA

By Kevin Dickinson

Posted Oct. 28, 2013 at 9:54 AM

By Kevin Dickinson

Posted Oct. 28, 2013 at 9:54 AM

Yreka

Last week, Siskiyou County Jail crews broke ground on the Blackberry Project, an interagency undertaking spearheaded by Police Chief Brian Bowles in response to the two homicide victims found at Yreka Creek in less than a year.

"The goal is to not only get it clean so when (police) drive by we can see down in there but also to make it a place people would like to visit," Bowles said. "I think this is a good kickoff effort to help with that goal."

Jail crews began their bush-whacking efforts last Monday. They worked in an area of the creek labeled Zone 1, which runs from past Deer Creek Way to near the old Ray's Market building.

Zone 1 is a high priority for the Yreka Police Department because the two dead bodies were discovered there.

Allison Giannini, jail programs coordinator, said the jail crew began technical operations last week – that is, the cutting, pulling, piling and hauling of the blackberry bushes. "You know, the fun stuff," she said.

"It takes a lot of effort, and that whole area is dense," she said. "It is exciting to finally be working in the Yreka Creek. This is definitely a project that needs to be done to benefit the local community."

On Oct. 22, Sheriff Deputy Frank Ward showed the Daily News the area his crew had been working to clear.

They had removed blackberry bushes that had grown tall enough for a man to stand behind without being visible from the road 30 yards away.

Beneath the weeds, they unearthed piles of large concrete slabs linked by twisted rebar.

Tim Griffith was one of the work program crew helping to restore Yreka Creek, as part of the prison depopulation program that started in 2011.

"It's better than sitting in a cell," said Griffith. "This way you get to go home and have steak at night – or mac and cheese depending on your budget."

As anyone who has waged a backyard battle with blackberries will confirm, simply cutting down the bush does not make for a long-term solution.

To keep the jail crew's hours of work from going to waste, Judy Aceves, deputy agriculture commissioner, is advising the project on how to prevent the bushes from repopulating the area.

"Blackberries in our area are extremely invasive," Aceves said.

She said the reason cutting does so little is because the blackberries have such an extensive root system. To attack the roots directly, she suggested the use of an herbicide called Garlon.

According to Aceves, after the jail crews have gone through, teams will apply the herbicide directly to the plant's stems.

"We won't be spraying from helicopters," Aceves said, adding that the chosen method allows for a precise and extremely controlled application.

Page 2 of 2 - Since the herbicide will likely be used in the winter, she said, it will work with the natural flow of the plant's lifecycle, hitting it when it is storing energy for the cold, sunless days.

According to the National Pesticide Information Center's fact sheet on triclopyr, Garlon's active ingredient, the herbicide degrades into carbon dioxide in soil and sunlight breaks down the compound in water.

The center also states that the chemical is particularly non-toxic to bees, bird and water insects though its toxicity in fish varies depending on the species.

"It's a pilot project," said Jerry Mosier, Yreka Creek Committee chairperson. "We'll see what works, and what doesn't work."